In this series, Lori Fredrich is hiking the burger trail to find the latest, greatest and most delicious burgers in Milwaukee. Click here for an explanation of the criteria used to rate each burger. Where have we been? Check out the complete catalog of burger reviews here. 

It’s been a hot minute since I last reviewed a burger for the On the Burger Trail series. Truth be told, after eating over 180 burgers, the series had begun to feel a bit stale. No longer inspired to find the next great burger, I decided it was time to take a pause.

But thanks to the rise of a few new burger joints, along with a renewed sense of excitement for indulging in beefy bliss, I decided to bring the series back for Dining Month. If all goes well, I might try to add to the series on at least a monthly basis. I may even revisit some classic burgers and old favorites, just to see how they’ve held up over the years. Stay tuned.

Fox Den @ Great Lakes Distillery
616 W. Virginia St.,
instagram.com/foxden_mke 
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The brainchild of industry veterans Sherrilynn Law and Jacob Neitzer, Fox Den debuted as a food truck. But, due to unforeseen circumstances, the mobile business was short-lived. Fortunately, they found a home in the former Gallery, a walk-up eatery at Great Lakes Distillery.

Their current menu, which has shifted a bit since they opened, showcases a variety of smash patties: six beef, four chicken and two housemade vegan smash patties (one made with mushrooms, seeds and grains; the other with beets, black beans and seeds). 

Accompaniments include “Foxy Bites” like Wonton Nachos, dry-brined hand-breaded cheese curds, bao buns, seasoned fries, churro cheesecake bombs, Korean fried wings and beer-battered onion rings. And, while you won’t find ketchup, you’ll find a far more interesting list of sauces to accompany your meal. That includes signature Bang! Sauce, sundried tomato aioli, charred lemon tahini, Jalapeno scranch, chili garlic aioli, Tiger Sauce, chimichurri, BBQ sauce and house buffalo sauce.

Since I’ve stuck almost entirely to beef burgers on the Burger Trail, I didn’t venture into chicken or vegan territory, though there were delicious combos to be sampled. But I love a good housemade veggie burger, and a chicken smash burger is intriguing, so I’d happily go back and try both. 

Beef burger options included the Umami Bomb (two beef smash patties, drunken mushrooms and bacon, caramelized onion, ‘shroom ketchup, swiss cheese, arugula and a parmesan crisp), the Chimi-Hendrix Experience which incorporates smoked cheddar chorizo spread, Dominican slaw and chimichurri and the Annie R U Oakly, R U Oakley Annie? With cheddar cheese, drunken mushrooms and bacon, red onion, pickles, jalapenos, onion rings and BBQ sauce. There’s also the Plain Jane, which features two smash patties, American cheese and “sadness and regret” – but that one doesn’t exactly sell itself when it’s up against a menu of far more intriguing flavor combos. 

I opted for the Bang! Burger, which was relatively traditional in comparison to some, but I didn’t want to have to dig through too many ingredients to taste the burger patty, at least on the first try.

The Bang! Burger features two hand-rolled beef patties, American cheese, minced onions, sliced pickles and Bang! sauce ($14). I added an order of beer-battered onion rings ($11) which came with two dipping sauces. I chose Tiger Sauce and Jalapeno Scranch.

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Presentation: 10

The burger, served in a pink paper-lined plastic basket was a looker. The bottom of the bun was completely obscured by the thin lace-edged caramelized beef patties which hung over the sides of the bread by as much as an inch. Moving upwards, there was melted American cheese and generous portion of Bang! Sauce, onions and pickles peeping out beneath the top bun.

Despite my best attempt at eating this burger without getting my hands dirty, I failed miserably.  Be sure to grab a few napkins if you choose to tackle it.

Bread/Bun: 10

The bun was fresh and soft with an airy interior and a delicate, slightly sweet flavor. Its cut sides were nicely toasted with mid-brown coloration that extended from edge to edge. As for that meat-to-bread ratio, it was solidly in favor of the meat. 

Burger: 8

The beef patties looked great. They were aptly smashed with crisp, lacey edges and caramelization across the patty.  Like all smash burgers, they were well done, though there was still fat present in the meat. The patties were well seasoned, which underscored the flavor of the beef and the crisp edges offered up an unmistakable buttery flavor. 

Their one weakness is that they were slightly dry in terms of texture and mouthfeel when eaten on their own (this was true for both my burger and my dining partner’s). Fortunately, when eaten as a whole, the sauce gave the patties the moisture they needed – so the inner portion of the burger was satisfying.

Toppings: 9

As far as the toppings were concerned, they were applied in a fairly balanced manner. The Bang! Sauce – a spicier take on the usual burger sauce – was sweet, salty and bright, bringing a spicy punch to the burger and balance to the meat and cheese. 

The onions were diced, rather than minced (as noted on the menu), but I didn’t object to the slightly larger pieces. They were crisp and sweet and added texture both to the Bang! Sauce and the burger overall. Meanwhile, the pickles were adorable and tasty with a nice classic dill flavor. I’ve never seen such tiny chips, so I presume they were sliced from small, whole dill pickles. Due to their size, they did tend to slide around a bit as I ate, falling out here and there into the basket and contributing to the burger's messiness.

The American cheese was melted to the patties. Since the burgers were massive in size, one slice only covered the middle of the burger; so the eating experience was the best when you got to the middle of the burger where there was a balanced combination of beef, cheese, onions, sauce and bun.

Value: 10

There will be no whining from me as I fork over $14 for two hand-smashed patties which have been properly cooked and adorned with scratch-made toppings. 

47/50

The Bang! Burger is among the most solid smash patties I’ve tried on the trail in terms of technique. It was also among the more complexly flavored; thanks to the sauce, it was sweet, savory and spicy with a nice pop of acid from the pickles.